I have plenty more posts from Santa Barbara in the pipeline, but I want to take a quick break to show you some recent developments in our own garden.
Remember my big Aloe ‘Moonglow’ falling over about three weeks ago? I made a clean cut to the trunk and replanted it a bit closer to the fence. Here it is today, not missing a beat:
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| Replanted Aloe ‘Moonglow’ this close to flowering |
That was ‘Moonglow’ #1.
This is what greeted me when I got back from Santa Barbara last week:
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| Aloe ‘Moonglow’ #2 face-planted on the sidewalk |
Aloe ‘Moonglow’ #2 had fallen over, too!
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| That pesky thing called gravity at work again! |
Amazing how in just a day or two in this horizontal position the flower heads had already started to change orientation!
I made a clean cut and reset the ‘Moonglow’ a bit closer to the fence, just like the other one.
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| Aloe ‘Moonglow’ #2 after resetting |
As of today, the flower heads are still in the wrong orientation, but I imagine they’ll right themselves in due course.
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| Aloe ‘Moonglow’ #2 |
Speaking of aloes, a few are flowering now:
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| A mystery aloe I originally got from Jeff Moore of Arid Adaptations in Tucson. It flowers pretty much all the time, year round. In fact, I’ve never seen an aloe that works as hard as this one does. Unfortunately, it has remained solitary, so no offsets to share. |
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| Aloe laeta × conifera hybrid from Brian Kemble. It has proven to be bullet-proof... |
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| ...and it looks great, too |
Most aloes are still a few weeks away from flowering. I’m not the most patient person, but anticipation really is sweet.
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| Aloe speciosa × barberae, a Nick Deinhart hybrid |
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| Aloe ‘Erik the Red’ |
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| Aloe vaombe × spectabilis is going nuts this year, with more flowers than ever |
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| Another photo of the reset Aloe ‘Moonglow’. In front of it is Aloe capitata × ferox, a hybrid created by my friend Justin Thiel, and to the left Aloe 'Jacob's Ladder'. |
A few noteworthy shrubs:
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| (Left to right) Arctostaphylos ‘Ian Bush’, pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia), and Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’ |
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| Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’ covered with hundreds, maybe thousands, of flowers |
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| Pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia) is a rarely seen but oh so beautiful shrub from South Australia that deserves to be more widely grown |
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| Arctostaphylos ‘Ian Bush’, a manzanita hybrid found at Las Pilitas Nursery. It’s been an easy plant (not all manzanitas are) and flowers freely. |
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| The corner of the L-shaped sidewalk bed |
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| Leucadendron ‘Jester’ is so colorful at this time of year. Next to it is a naturally occurring hybrid of Yucca queretaroensis and filifera (see the SMG website for more info). |
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| Hechtia ‘Silver Tongue Devil’ at the top, Agave oteroi ‘Filigree’ from San Marcos Growers at the bottom |
Finally, take a look at the photo below. There’s a monster among us!
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| Massive weed emerging from the lush foliage of Sphaeralcea philippiana. Pulling it will be so satisfying. I’ll wait a few more days to savor the anticipation. Remember what I said about anticipation being sweet? |
© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
Wow, amazing how the Aloes can reset themselves. You certainly have some beauties there, and the landscaping with the rocks and gravel is really special.
ReplyDeleteAloes are really tough. Their biggest enemies are too much water.
DeleteWhat, you're waiting to pull that monster hahaha! Your mystery aloe is great, I love the blooms. I haven't had much rot this year (knock on wood) but my Aloe laeta gave up with just a sniff of rain. I must have bought a dud plant. That vaombe x.spec is insane! The pearl bluebush & Hechtia silver tongue devil are both incredible. Love that corner shot. You really got some great additions, how exciting :)
ReplyDeleteI pulled the monster. It was so satisfying. Lots more weeds to deal with, but good stuff is putting on a ton of growth, too. I even have some White Linen poppies flowering already.
DeleteYour Aloes have quite a show going on! Given their apparent predilection for becoming top-heavy, I'll have to watch my 'Moonglows' carefully in the future as mine sit atop a moderate slope and could take a fall. An ever-blooming Aloe is remarkable! With the exception of my Aloe striatas, all mine are done flowering for the season, such is the difference between our winter temperatures.
ReplyDeleteWe're WEEKS behind SoCal. The first flowers on Moonglow are just now starting to open.
DeleteFirst saw maireana at Piece of Eden's garden, draping over a wall -- did not know it could grow vertical as well!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm baffled why Maireana sedifolia isn't in every nursery!
DeleteAloe ‘Moonglow’ not missing a beat is remarkable! Brian Kemble's A. laeta × conifera hybrid is stunning. Does it have that leaf color year round?
ReplyDeleteChavli
That laeta hybrid does have purple leaves all year, but it's more pronounced in the winter.
DeleteFellow German here, following you from near Barcelona, Spain. What a collection, what a garden you have there! I’m almost green with envy. Can’t quite replicate that on my roof top terrace …
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know of a good online Aloe identification guide? I have two (probably pretty common) species grown from cuttings found here around town that are starting to flower for the first time. PlantNet etc. are equally useful for Aloes as for Opuntias (i.e. hopeless): Both plants are clearly different, but identified as the same species.
Thanks, and keep going!
Thomas
Thomas, good to hear from you! Greetings to Spain! If you had a larger garden space, I bet you could grow just about any aloe.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know of an ID site specifically for aloes, but Agaveville.org has great aloe info and photos.
Thanks Gerhard, I’ll have a look.
Delete